Listening to learners’ voices

Abstract

This article investigates learners’ perceptions on pronunciation learning in study-abroad contexts from a qualitative perspective. While previous research focused mainly on quantitative measurements of pronunciation gains with mixed results, this study takes a more learner-centered approach and examines the impact of socio-psychological factors on learning foreign pronunciation, which appears to be a highly individual and at times conflict-prone process with which sojourners are confronted. The study draws on the cases of five Canadian students who studied abroad at German universities for one or two semesters. The data collection involved a learning history questionnaire; semi-structured interviews pre-, mid-, and post-sojourn; and bi-weekly e-journals. The data was analyzed and interpreted within the framework of narrative analysis. The results show how sojourners’ beliefs about the importance of pronunciation, community participation, identity-related challenges, and obstacles to pronunciation learning influence and help explain individually different learning behaviors and results.

Social Factors and the Teaching of Pronunciation: What the Research Tells Us

“…A key factor in the success of the SA experience is related to the learner’s desire and ability to integrate into the L2 community and develop L2 social networks during the SA experience. Research by Müller (2016) on the SA experience of L1 English learners of L2 German found that learners who desired to ‘fit in’ to the German L2 community and develop viable L2 social networks often had greater L2 pronunciation gains during the SA experience. Ringer-Hilfinger (2012) also found that the Spanish L2 SA students in her study acquired the dialectal variation for /θ/ in use within the L2 social networks they developed during their SA experience.…”

Language learning and study abroad

“…As highlighted by Müller (2016), research on the acquisition of L2 pronunciation focuses on differences in pronunciation gains, similar to other aspects of linguistic development abroad, and has found mixed results mostly attributable to individual differences. Studies typically focus on the approximation of participants to the native production of salient phonological features of regional language varieties (e.g., O'Brien 2003; Knouse 2012; Reynolds-Case 2013; Avello & Lara 2014) as well as the learners' perceptual competence (e.g., Mora 2014; Romanelli, Menegotto & Smyth 2015).…”